Dr. AnnMaria De Mars spoke about her daughter, Ronda Rousey’s struggles with talking about her UFC losses.
From suffering her first career loss to dropping back-to-back UFC fights, Ronda Rousey has always struggled about discussing these defeats in public. The 6-time defending champion had been a media darling during her incredible reign, but has notoriously avoided the spotlight and any questions relating to those bouts immediately after those setbacks.
Her mother, Dr. AnnMaria De Mars, was a guest on Submission Radio and the judo world champion discussed various topics, including these very struggles and Rousey’s transition to pro-wrestling.
“Ronda’s always had trouble talking, and she had to go through speech therapy for years,” she explained about her daughter. “And she always had a thing, when she’s stressed out she has trouble coming out with the right words for things, and kind of expressing herself the way she wants to.
“And I think it’s actually very wise that if you’re not quite sure what you want to say, to say nothing,” De Mars said. “My late husband, her dad, used to always get mad at me, ‘you do that women thing when you’re mad at me and you don’t say anything and you give me the silent treatment’. And I said, no that’s not it at all. I mean, it’s true, when I’m really upset or I am really emotional I usually don’t say anything, but the reason is you can’t take it back.
“I don’t know if you guys are married, but if your spouse says something to you that’s really awful, and they can say later, ‘oh I didn’t mean it,’ but you still heard it and it doesn’t change that they said it. So it’s just better if you don’t really know the right words to say something, just don’t say anything until you figure it out. That’s wise in general.”
There were times that interviews didn’t go so well, and Rousey did act or say regrettable things that she can’t take back. Perhaps that’s one of the situations De Mars was referring to, but in any case, things seem to be looking up for Rousey right now.
The former UFC champion impressed on her debut at Wrestlemania, and she seems to be happy enough on her new career that she has already started to open up more about her past setbacks.